Erdoğan says courts will convict many in coup trials by end of 2017

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan waits ahead a working session on the first day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 7, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Patrik STOLLARZ

Responding to questions from reporters about the slow prosecution of suspects in a failed coup last July, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that the courts will convict many in coup trials by the end of the year, the Hürriyet daily reported.

Erdoğan, who spoke to the press on Friday on his way to the G-20 summit in Hamburg, referred to the case of Enis Berberoğlu, an imprisoned Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy.

“The judicial process is ongoing. The decision on Enis Berberoğlu is an important step. What is his connection [to the MİT trucks ]? It is the person [Can Dündar] who fled abroad. He [Berberoğlu] is the one who leaked information [about MİT trucks]. I think there will be a significant number of convictions by the end of the year,” said Erdoğan.

Berberoğlu was sentenced to 25 years in prison on June 14 for leaking information for a report on National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks transporting weapons to jihadists in Syria.

The court in its reasoned opinion on the arrest of Berberoğlu had said: “It is beyond doubt that he was involved in espionage for political motives. It was believed he might flee or go into hiding. One of the suspects, Can Dündar, immediately fled abroad as soon as he was released despite the fact that he was given a lighter sentence.”